Former Bulldog, state amateur champ Claxton among Pot o’ Gold leaders
MOULTRIE – Attending a pro-am golf tournament, one never knows if anyone on the ‘pro’ side will be somebody you once saw playing the game on television or listed on a Sunday leaderboard among the recognizable stars.
Take the 65th annual Pot o’ Gold Pro-am at Moultrie’s Sunset Country Club, taking place on a weekend when the PGA Tour joined in an unprecedented weekend where so many athletic events were outright cancelled or stopped just as things were getting going. Several teams of both professional and amateur players from Georgia and Alabama still made their way to Colquitt County to vie for a prize. One of those pros is former University of Georgia Bulldog golfer and the 1992 Georgia Amateur champion, Paul Claxton.
A native of Vidalia, Claxton is no stranger to Sunset and the Pot o’ Gold, but this year is the first time he played in the tournament representing the recently-opened Richmond Hill Country Club. With past experience at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, Claxton played in the morning group for the second round and shot to a tie for second on the pro leaderboard with a round of 65.
“We had a nice day today,” said Claxton, who carded 71 during the afternoon session of Friday’s first round. “The greens were smooth this morning and rolling good. I made a few putts and holed out for eagle on a par 5 from about 50 yards. That helped get things going early in the round.
“My teammates played great, too. I think we played a little better today. The greens were receptive.”
This is Claxton’s third appearance at Pot o’ Gold and his first in about five years. He said by far Saturday was the best he and his team’s done over Sunset’s 18 and that the course as a whole was in the best shape he’s seen here.
“They over seeded the fairways and didn’t over seed the greens,” said Claxton. “That’s a great combination. The definition out there, seeing the fairway with the contrast of the rough being dormant. They’ve done a great job.”
Claxton’s college golf career ended after the 1991 season, and in the summer of 1992 he won the state’s amateur tournament at the Athens Country Club. He then had his eyes on a professional career, and it turned out to be a great experience.
“I’ve traveled all over the world,” said Claxton. “I’ve played with all the guys you see on television. It’s been exciting. I never got rich or famous … but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. There are a lot of good players out there, and I kind of was right on the fringe. Pretty good, but not quite good enough to hang with the best in the world.
“I did pretty good for a kid with no golf lessons from Vidalia, Georgia.”
Claxton can see that plenty in the Richmond Hill area get golf lessons. What actually happened is that, according to Claxton, Ben MacMillian bought what was once called Sterling Hills Golf Course (which closed in 2018), redid it and reopened it last November.
“He did a wonderful job,” said Claxton, who began working there earlier this year. In his prior Pot o’ Gold appearances, Claxton represented Hawk’s Point Golf Club in Vidalia, which he said closed two years ago. “I’d been a teaching pro at Brunswick Country Club in-between.”
Claxton’s professional resume includes two wins on the Nationwide (now called Korn Ferry) Tour, two U.S. Opens, one PGA Championship and an appearance at the Senior PGA Championship.
His PGA appearance wasn’t that long ago at Quail Hallow in Charlotte in 2017. He qualified that year based on having one of the 20 low scores at that year’s PGA Professional Championship, which is for club and teaching pros who are members of the PGA of America.
“Beat me up pretty good,” Claxton said about that tournament. “It was a little too long for me. Golf courses in the majors now are all about length. I’m getting older and the courses are getting a lot longer. I prefer to play with the seniors. Let’s put it that way.”
In 2005, Claxton won a sectional qualifier in Maryland to play in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and finished tied for 23rd. Also in Maryland, in 2012, he won a qualifier for that year’s national championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
“I’ve been to the Q school the last two years,” said Claxton about his attempts to make the Champions Tour. “There’s only five spots at Q school. I’ve finished 10th and 12th. Played pretty well, just not quite good enough. I’ve qualified for about seven events through through the Monday qualifying.”
Today (Sunday), Claxton will look to add a Pot o’ Gold low pro and team title distinction. For a lot of his peers, however, wins and earnings are up in the air after the PGA Tour cancelled its next three events and The Masters was postponed.
Due to concerns about COVID-19, The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., stopped play after Friday’s first round even as there was a plan to continue playing without spectators.
“I think they’re doing the right thing,” said Claxton. “It’s something they feel is in the best interest of the health of the players, the fans and the volunteers. We’re kind of in unchartered territory, and the last thing we need is for players and spectators catching the virus. They are wanting to bend the curve instead of spiking it, so I think it’s probably the right thing to do.”